Open Government

Helen Jackson:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on promotion of open government. [55928]

Mr. Wills:
With the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we have legislated to give to the people of this country, for the first time ever, a general statutory right to know. The timetable we have announced will ensure that full implementation of this new right is completed 11 months before the statutory deadline set out in the Act itself. The publication scheme provisions of the Act will be implemented first, on a rolling programme, starting with central Government in 2002. This roll out will be completed in June 2004 and the individual right of access to information held by all public authorities will be implemented in January 2005.

This approach will give public authorities the time they need to put into effect the change of culture necessary to ensure the legal rights are delivered in practice. It also aligns with the 2004 target for the completion of the Government's electronic records management. This initiative will enable the fast retrieval and accurate creation and storage of records that will be necessary to meet the demands of the Freedom of Information Act.

In his annual statutory report to Parliament in November 2001, the Lord Chancellor reported on the progress that had been made towards the implementation of the Act. In particular, he said that each Department had appointed a senior official to 'Champion' freedom of information within their Department and to lead culture change from the top of the organisation. Crucial developments are already taking place in the area of records management and Departments are preparing to meet the targets for the 2004 target for full electronic management of records. The Information Commissioner has already set up five pilot publication schemes with central Government organisation and I look forward to seeing similar pilots in local authorities and the police in the near future.

The report also announced the formation of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Group on Implementation of the Act. The group includes members from representative organisations from across the public sector and independent representatives to advise the Lord Chancellor on what users will need in order to take advantage of their rights under the Freedom of Information Act. It has already met twice and the next meeting will take place in July.

A seminar for Ministers was held in March of this year, where Ministers were reminded of their key role in delivering compliance with the Act and a new culture of openness. In particular, we noted that there should be a Minister in each Department with responsibility for

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implementing freedom of information in that Department, its agencies and sponsored non-departmental public bodies; and those Ministers should take an active interest in the delivery of the Act within these Departments.

I have recently completed a series of road shows around the country to raise awareness of the Act at a senior level in public authorities. These events were attended by around 1,000 officials from across the public sector and officials in my Department intend to run a series of workshops in the autumn to follow-up these road shows.

This year's report, to be published in November, will contain further details of developments in all these areas. In the same month, publication schemes will come into force for central Government and other bodies already applying the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. These schemes will provide greater access to information for all members of the public.

Officials from the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Division in my Department have undertaken awareness-raising seminars and will continue to do so. These have been held in a wide range of Departments including: the Cabinet Office; the Home Office; the Department of Health; the Northern Ireland civil service as well as in my Department. Officials also speak at the civil service college course on freedom of information and have spoken on courses and conferences arranged by other organisations. In these sessions, officials are reminded of the requirement to comply with the existing Code of Practice on Access to Government Information when answering requests for information until the Freedom of Information Act comes fully into effect in January 2005.

More information about the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is available on the Department's website at www.lcd.gov.uk.

Court Buildings

Mr. Wray:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many court houses have closed since 1997; and how many have had improvements made to them. [54208]

Mr. Wills:
There have been 77 magistrates' court houses closed since 1997 in England and Wales, as set out in the table. Of the 404 magistrates' courts in England and Wales currently in operation, almost all have had improvements made to them in one way or another, for example, improvements to environmental systems or enhancements to enable compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act or Health and Safety legislation, including security provisions.

The Department is currently funding an ongoing programme of building works on magistrates' courts throughout England and Wales. It received a £100 million capital grant allocation during the current Spending Review 2000 period for maintenance and other building enhancements. This is funding priority maintenance and improvement works such as facilities for victims and vulnerable witnesses, as well as Disability Discrimination Act and Security facilities. The grant provides 80 per cent. of the funding with a further 20 per cent. being provided by the local authority. There is also a public private partnership programme for the provision of new courts to

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meet the needs of a 21st century court system. £210 million national credit approval (NCA) has been allocated over the CSR 2000 period.

There have been 15 county court closures since 1997 in England and Wales, as set out in the table. There are two county court closure proposals (Gravesend and Gateshead) under consideration, both of which have gone out to public consultation.

There have been no Crown court closures in England and Wales since 1997. There is, however, currently public consultation on the proposal to close the Crown court at Knutsford. Consultation commenced on 10 April and will run until the end of May.

There are 78 Crown court centres and 218 county courts (permanent) in England and Wales; many have had various renovation works undertaken. The nature of works covered varies but they include items such as health and safety works, security work, Disability Discrimination Act compliance and environmental improvements. In most instances these works have been undertaken within the scope of major maintenance schemes.